Roster rundown: After injury-plagued year, decisions to be made on Bears' O-line

Injuries were far too much of the storyline for the 2017 Bears, and it’s a problem that left its mark on the offensive line.

The Bears had to wait on right guard Kyle Long to be ready coming off reconstructive surgery to repair his right ankle, forcing him to miss the first two games of the regular season. Compounding the issue was the loss of Eric Kush, projected to be swing player on the inside, to a season-ending hamstring injury during training camp. As it turned out, a healthy Kush would have received ample playing time.

Long was able to start only nine games as a series of injuries, most notably a torn labrum in his left shoulder that was suffered in the 2016 preseason, eventually forced him to injured reserve. Going forward, the biggest issue for Long might remain the ankle injury from 2016 and how he’s able to manage it. More on Long and the future below. Left tackle Charles Leno and center/guard Cody Whitehair were the only linemen to start 16 games, but right tackle Bobby Massie started 15 before a sprained ankle forced him out of the season finale.

When it was all over, the Bears had used seven starting combinations, so former offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and ex-offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn deserve some level of credit for the running game operating at the level it did, particularly with the amount of eight- and nine-man boxes the offense faced.

The most common alignment on the line featured (from left to right) Leno, Josh Sitton, Whitehair, Long and Massie. That group started eight games together. It’s really difficult for an offensive line to remain in place for 16 games, but getting 13 or 14 starts out of the same unit in a season is a good goal and the Bears were well short of the mark.

2017 season review: The run blocking was credible most of the season and better than that in a handful of games. Remember that the Bears faced a healthy dose of loaded boxes because they didn’t have threats on the outside or wide receivers who forced opposing defensive coordinators to get creative in coverage with safeties. From that standpoint, a lot of what the team did running the ball, even with backups on the line, was a success. The tendency remained to run to the left, and Leno and Sitton did well. Sitton is lauded by some for being a better pass blocker than he is a run blocker, but they kept going behind the left side and finding success.

The Bears allowed 39 sacks, which ranked near the middle of the league, tied for 18th. Rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky took too many sacks, especially early in the season, on plays when he could have gotten the ball out. He’ll get better with experience.

Coming off a four-year, $38 million extension that he signed in the preseason, Leno was steady on the left side. He’s on a consecutive-snaps streak of 2,903, and while he wasn’t perfect in pass protection, the offense didn’t provide him a lot of chip help; the same can be said for Massie on the right side. Leno was called for 13 penalties — six holding, six false starts and one ineligible man downfield. That is too many, but some of the false-start penalties can be blamed on the operation of the unit as a whole. The left tackle is trying to get off the ball quickly and with a rookie quarterback, that’s something that can take some time to iron out. The Bears should be better with the snap counts in Trubisky’s second season. It sounds basic and it is, but it still takes time. Leno can run into a little trouble when his hands get outside the frame of the defender, but that’s every offensive tackle. He has strong hands and should be reliable for the new coaching staff.

Sitton, who missed Week 3 with a rib injury and the final two games with a sprained ankle, was the most consistent interior lineman for the season. He has such a good understand of what’s happening in a crowded space. He knows angles and leverage and understands how to beat defensive linemen.

Whitehair wasn’t able to build off the impressive rookie season he had in 2016, and that’s probably because the coaching staff kept moving him around, starting in the preseason. He made 12 starts at center and two at each of the guard positions. He held up pretty well but struggled against Packers defensive lineman Kenny Clark. He also needs to reduce his penalties in 2018 after getting called for nine — five holding (one declined), two false starts and two illegal use of hands.

Long battled through injuries even when he was on the field and while he looked a little unorthodox at times — he was basically playing with one healthy arm at times — he got the job done and dominated at certain points. A scout for another NFC team called him the team’s best lineman when he was available because he was still more athletic than most guards even coming off the ankle injury and remained freakishly strong.

Massie was more consistent than he was during his first season with the team in 2016. He’s not going to the Pro Bowl anytime soon, but he played effectively and was called for only four penalties, the lowest among regular starters on the line.

Grasu, a former third-round pick, was forced into action with four starts. He really struggles to anchor against bigger defensive players. Compton (five starts) and Sowell (two) were also pressed into duty. Although Compton was signed as a swing tackle, he wound up making all five starts at guard as the Bears scrambled a little after Kush’s loss.

The offense really struggled at times, and the line is part of that, but when the Bears did things well offensively, like running the ball, the line deserved credit.

The Bears charged into the offseason by hiring coach Matt Nagy to replace John Fox, a move that triggered a slew of other staff changes in January. After Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis on Feb. 4, it won’t be long before league business heats up again.

Here’s a rundown of meaningful dates and deadlines that make up the Bears’ 2018 offseason calendar.

(Rich Campbell)

Free agency/draft priority: This looks like a priority and perhaps a high one depending on what shakes out in the next couple of weeks. General manager Ryan Pace has made it clear he believes in stocking the offensive line, so there is a good chance the Bears will use one of their top two picks on a lineman. The right player has to be there for them at the right time — and it could depend on what happens in free agency. Generally, teams like to have an experienced swing tackle on the roster, and that will lead to a free-agent move. It’s possible the Bears could consider Compton and/or Sowell again.

The biggest decision that needs to be made in the next month is what to do with Sitton, who has a 2018 team option that must be executed five days before the start of the new league year March 9. Otherwise, Sitton becomes an unrestricted free agent. This is going to be an interesting decision. Sitton, who turns 32 in June, indicated to me in the final week of the season that he intends to play for a couple of more years. His team option calls for a base salary of $7.4 million with a workout bonus of $100,000 and a total of $500,000 available in per-game roster bonuses.

So the question becomes do the Bears want to pay Sitton $8 million and, once again, have among the highest percentage of cap space in the NFL committed to their guards, a position that doesn’t score touchdowns or prevent touchdowns? The Raiders with Kelechi Osemele and Gabe Jackson have a 2018 cap total of $21 million with both players at $10.5 million. The Browns with Kevin Zeitler ($12.4 million) and Joel Bitonio ($6 million) are the only other team currently projected to have more cap space into the guard position. Long ($8,848,158) and Sitton ($8,572,018) would put the Bears at $17,420,176. The next closest to the Bears would be the Steelers at almost $14.4 million.

Sitton is the kind of aging veteran in the final year of his contract that new coaching staffs shed. But the Bears have an abundance of needs, and cutting ties with him would create another hole to fill. Yes, the Bears could draft a player like Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson and plug him in as a Day 1 starter, but there is no telling if he will be available when they pick No. 8 in the first round. They could find another guard or they could slide Whitehair over and add a center. The Bears could also consider drafting a guard in the middle rounds, fertile area for a lot of teams to find eventual starters, and allow him to develop for a year behind a pair of veterans. The first real tell we’re going to get from Pace and the new coaching staff will come when we find out what direction they choose with Sitton.

You hear from time to time the idea that the Bears need an elite left tackle. Well, so do about 27 or 28 other teams. That’s because when you talk about the absolute upper echelon of left tackles in the NFL, there are only a few.

Change in coaching staff means: The Bears were fortunate to land one of the better offensive line coaches as Nagy lured Harry Hiestand away from Notre Dame, where he had a strong run under coach Brian Kelly, winning the 2017 Joe Moore Award for having the best line in the nation. Hiestand previously worked for the Bears from 2005 to 2009 after coming with Ron Turner from Illinois. The offense figures to turn to a heavier reliance on inside zone running plays and the interesting thing about Hiestand is he returns to the NFL with a broader resume this time. Everything you’re seeing NFL offenses turn to these days, such as what the Eagles did in Super Bowl LII and what offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich brings with him from the college ranks, is what Hiestand was teaching at Notre Dame and before that Tennessee. He’s adept at preparing his linemen for RPOs, which the Irish ran. The Bears ran a lot of inside zone and power as a downhill running team the last time Hiestand was with them. His linemen will be moving forward more than they will be going side to side. He’s well-versed in the direction NFL offenses are headed, and that should be exciting for the offensive linemen.

Bottom line: Injuries made life tough for the line as a whole, but when the Bears did good things last season, the line probably didn’t get the credit it deserved. The Bears are in good hands with Hiestand and were fortunate to secure him. They could definitely use an infusion of youth, but we’ve got to see what direction they choose with Sitton. That’s a big domino when you’re looking at offseason moves heading into free agency and then the draft.